Thinking of upgrading my Graphics Card

[XtR-X]

RDRAM outperforms DDRAM by only a few percent.

So 800MHz is better then, right?

I don't see the bottleneck when the processor is 800Mhz FSB.

 

[chocobogo_rct]

my processor is only 533Mhz

 

[JSR]

x, just don't bother

nominal increse...........big dollars to convert everthing to accomodate the change, hammer on the horizon, you have an existing 3000+, more money than brains?.....go get it :grinthumb

 

[XtR-X]

Originally posted by chocobogo_rct
my processor is only 533Mhz

There's the bottleneck.

 

[chocobogo_rct]

no worries, RDRAM seems to run pretty well. I only recently upgraded to 512MB as generals was running like a slug on 256MB.

What I may do is do a clean install of XP, install the 9800 with the latest drivers and see how it handles. If it struggles in any way I will shell out for the extra 256MB ram

 

[XtR-X]

Also, if you run any memory programs like MemTurbo, close it off, this actually creates lag in games when it decides to defrag.

 

[young&wild]

Originally posted by XtR-X
He's fine with RAM, plus, it's 800MHz RAM, twice the speed of PC3200.

So 800MHz is better then, right?

Next time if you want to post something, get the facts right and more accurate or else you will mislead many people even in simple mistakes.

 

[chocobogo_rct]

well guys, decided to go for it!
Bought the sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro.

UT2003 runs sweets, generals is greatly improved, got 5500 in 3dmark 2003 with default settings, and the chimp demo is awesome! So im pretty happy.

Still prob gonna go for another 256-512MB ram just to make sure HL2 will run like a dream!!!

 

[acidosmosis]

chocobogo_rct: Teehee, my 3Dmark 2003 scores were about 5500-6000 and my system is slower than yours muahaha. ;-)

I have a 9700 Pro/1.73GHz Athlon XP/512MB PC2100.

basically same 3DMark 2003 scores as you

 

[JSR]

he has a dell

everythings underclocked

 

[XtR-X]

Originally posted by young&wild
Next time if you want to post something, get the facts right and more accurate or else you will mislead many people even in simple mistakes.

You and Phantasm are wrongfully accusing me. Maybe you should read between the words next time. I'm sure that this wasn't a biggie.

I asked "So 800MHz is better right?" to make the point be countered to all who thought 333 or even 400 mhz ram outperforms 800mhz.

I did this for "RDRAM outperforms DDRAM by only a few percent."

Seriously, read between the lines. That wasn't hard now was it? You and Phantasm, lay off. And any others.... You're all looking and *waiting* for me to make one mistake when I'm sure we've all made mistakes. Again, my mistake wasn't in this thread.

 

[young&wild]

I hate to argue over these small things. I'll try to keep this as short as possible. First of all XtR-R, it's not about reading between the lines.blah..blah.. blah.

You mentioned that "800MHz RAM, twice the speed of PC3200", this is true if you are referring to the bus speed. In your case, your statement was rather unclear, many people who will/ have read your post may be misinformed if they interpret this statement as the following "800MHz RAM is really twice the speed of PC3200", which is a bit untrue.

How to make it clearer? You could have given some more details in your post or evidence to give us reader a better understanding and also making your post and enjoyable one to read. You can't assume that all readers know what you are talking about as they may be newbies to computers.

No offence, but you tend to repeat these mistakes. I hope you really understand.

I know you are eager to help alot of people in their problems....but just try to keep this in mind, if you are unsure about something, try to google for some related articles to give you a better understanding. If you want to give an opinion, use statements like "In my opinion or i think, and etc "or even abbreviation like IMHO just to tell people you are giving an opinion.

 

[chocobogo_rct]

Whats the best & safest way of overclocking my Card then?

Cheers guys

 

[JSR]

usually there is a utility

that comes with the software bundle, but why?............there are many things that alter scores...........don't be confused..................nothing will push that card currently, so chill :grinthumb

 

[Arris]

Originally posted by chocobogo_rct
I might just get the 9800 now!! I cant wait for the new card.

I have found 2 good cards
128MB Sapphire Radeon 9800 Atlantis Pro DDR DVI TVout £270 (PC Next Day)
Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB DDR AGP RP DVI VO £320 (dabs)

Whats the difference with these 2 cards, they are both sapphire which I believe to be a good, fast brand so why is one a lot cheaper than the other?

The PC Next day price is good. I think the dabs one is listed wrongly as you can get the 256mb one for a little more than £320!!!!...

 

[JSR]

pricewatch

has the 9800 pro @ 330.........the fx5900 256 has dropped to 400 even......that would be a tough call............but, for the difference.............70 bones..............256 here i come...............waiting a bit more of a drop in price, though....... due to the fact that the present need for all that firepower hasn't arrived on the shelves
oh by the way, do not make the mistake of thinking these are similar cards
one is the pro, and one is not..........too many people, do not read the fine print
and, do not get the 256 radeon, unless you want the same performance for 100 more...........only the fx variant is an acceptable choice in the 256 category

 

[acidosmosis]

JSR: True. I've seen a lot of people have problems with not buying the correct card due to not reading the fine print. A lot of websites that sell these cards were forced to add warnings such as "NOT PRO VERSION" in large letters. I guess they had a lot of problems with people trying to return video cards, and complaining that the cards were not as fast as they should be or not clocked at the correct speed.

 

[iss]

Whats the best & safest way of overclocking my Card then?

the safest bet is dont overclock it at all. consider the great performance you are getting now with the possibility of ending up with a 400.00 paper weight.